Slotstead Open live pilot

Migration with a ledger

Move booking software without losing the client relationship

Validate imports, preserve identifiers, and reconcile future appointments before switching links.

Short answer

See what imported, what changed and what needs a person.

Validate imports, preserve identifiers, and reconcile future appointments before switching links. For solo and 1–10-provider beauty and wellness businesses, the useful test is whether the software preserves the original event, makes uncertainty visible and gives one person a clear next action.

Product status: a limited Slotstead founding-pilot PWA is live at /app/. It implements the published core workflow but is not yet a broad generally available service.

Product thesis

See what imported, what changed and what needs a person.

Validate imports, preserve identifiers, and reconcile future appointments before switching links. The design keeps original events, changes and unresolved states visible so teams do not have to reconstruct the story later.

Decision framework

Compare the workflow, not the feature count.

Decision factorManual toolsBroad all-in-one platformSlotstead founding pilot
Primary goalPatch the immediate problemCover many business functionsProtect real availability, deposits, and client context.
Exception visibilityDepends on notes, inboxes and memoryVaries by module and configurationExplicit state, evidence, owner and next action
PortabilityManual copying and ad-hoc filesDepends on vendor export rulesExport remains part of the written pilot boundary
Initial commitmentLow software cost; high manual timeSubscription plus migration effort€99 one-time founding pilot; no payment today

This is a category-level decision framework, not a scored comparison of named vendors. Capabilities and pricing must be verified with each provider.

Selection criteria

Three things to test before switching.

Use one recent failure as the acceptance test. Ask to see the normal path, the exception path and the export before discussing a long feature roadmap.

  1. Client and appointment validationAsk the vendor to demonstrate this with your own edge case and show what remains exportable.
  2. Parallel calendar reconciliationAsk the vendor to demonstrate this with your own edge case and show what remains exportable.
  3. Full export at any timeAsk the vendor to demonstrate this with your own edge case and show what remains exportable.

How it behaves

A small system with an explicit finish line.

01

Define hard availability

Working hours, services, buffers and provider constraints stay explicit.

02

Hold the appointment

Deposits and booking rules are visible before the slot is confirmed.

03

Resolve conflicts

Sync and availability exceptions go to a clear queue instead of silently double-booking.

Product proof

Use the live pilot, then inspect the flow.

The authenticated PWA implements the bounded core workflow. The homepage mockup and seven-node viewer explain that workflow publicly without exposing private app data.

Evidence

What supports this answer.

The recommendation is grounded in 1,430 one-to-three-star US Apple App Store reviews across 8 established apps, collected and normalized on 2026-07-29. Themes may overlap.

Read the counts, method and limitations →

Limitations

What it does not prove.

Low-star reviews overrepresent dissatisfied users, coverage windows differ by app, and keyword tagging is imperfect. The evidence supports a bounded pilot and buyer interviews; it does not prove market demand or product-market fit.

Buyer questions

Clear answers before a pilot.

What should a buyer verify before choosing move booking software without losing the client relationship?

Verify client and appointment validation, parallel calendar reconciliation, full export at any time, then test the exact exception that currently fails. A feature checklist is not a substitute for running a real workflow.

Is Slotstead available as a finished product?

A limited Slotstead founding-pilot PWA is live at /app/. It implements the published core workflow but is not yet a broad generally available service.

What does the Slotstead founding pilot cost?

The proposed founding pilot is €99 one time for One studio, up to 2 provider calendars, migration setup and a 90-day pilot. No payment is taken today; the fee becomes payable only after a usable pilot matching a written scope is ready.

Live founding pilot

Test the bounded workflow before a bigger commitment.

Use the live PWA, inspect the evidence and compare the transparent founding scope.

Open the live pilot →